Modern molecular medicine strongly focuses on the use of immunogenic compounds or compounds modulating the immune system of a patient for the treatment of such patient. Respective diseases are, among others, tumors and infectious diseases.
In both cases, antigenic compounds, i.e. compounds which are suitable to elicit an immune response or to strengthen an immune response are administered to the patient's body. The usefulness of the respective compounds is, however, in many cases limited which requires a boost of the immune response so as to reach a clinically relevant level of efficiency and efficacy. Such boost can be performed by repeatedly administering the respective agent, or by using an adjuvant.
The prior art provides for several adjuvants such as mineral oils, inactivated mycobacteria, aluminium compounds and the like.
The adjuvants known in the art, however, are not always performing in a manner sufficient to meet the medical needs, in particular in connection with new treatment regimens such as the use of cytokine expressing cells as, for example, described in international patent application PCT/US94/01631.
The problem underlying the present invention is thus to provide compositions, more particularly pharmaceutical compositions, which comprise at least a first constituent and a second constituent, whereby the first constituent is an adjuvant and the second constituent is a biologically active agent.